By Vasiliki Mitsinoutou

ATHENS

Refugee camps in the Greek island of Chios are overcrowded and the island has to be decongested as soon as possible, Doctors of the World said on Tuesday.

Greek islands at the Aegean have been the main gateways to Europe for the last two years. Since 2015, a little under 1 million war refugees and migrants entered Greece by sea, according to United Nations refugee agency data.

The three refugee camps - in Souda, Vial and the municipal theatre in Chios - are overcrowded.

Extended wait, uncertainty and lack of resources are reportedly making matters worse, although protests are not as numerous as in early April.

“All camps are overcrowded and despite things being stable for now the island needs to be decongested if it is to receive people again,” said Maria Lavida, Doctors of the World spokeswoman.

“There are ongoing tensions which is understandable considering the living conditions at the camps,” she said.

Despair has hit refugees and migrants on the island who feel trapped while they go through the slow process of asylum applications. So much so that, on Monday, four refugees began swimming from the island in an attempt to reach Turkey, according to th Chios coast guard.

The four swimmers, all from Pakistan left the Souda camp and tried to reach the Turkish city of Cesme 26 kilometers away (16 miles). The Hellenic coast guard located them and safely returned them to the Greek island.

There are currently more than 2,000 people at the refugee centers in Chios. Two new arrivals were recorded in the last 24 hours and five more at the island of Samos, according to the Greek authorities.

The arrival rate has significantly dropped since March 20 when the EU and Turkey struck and agreement which aims to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea and develop a mechanism for resettling Syrian refugees from Turkey to the EU.

However, asylum applications peaked causing a blockage of the asylum process, according to Asylum Service data.

First Reception Service, a Greek governmental organization, reportedly left the Vial camp on Thursday due to lack of personnel combined with the overcrowding in the center, creating unsuitable conditions for the registration and identification of refugees and migrants.